2 boys charged in arson in Hampstead

September 28, 2004|BY A SUN STAFF WRITER

Two Carroll County boys were arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree arson, accused of setting a fire that spread from a portable toilet to a nearby building, causing about $30,000 worth of damage, according to state fire officials.

A 12-year-old boy and a 14- year-old boy were taken into custody and later released to their parents after Hampstead police and fire officials identified them as the suspected arsonists. Hampstead firefighters responded to the fire at the Hampstead Lions Club Community Room on Hillcrest Avenue about 1:30 a.m.

Fire officials said the fire spread quickly to an adjacent brick utility building used by the Lions Club. Allen Gosnell, a spokesman for the state fire marshal's office, said the fire caused the ceiling to fall in. The building was used primarily for storage, he said.